Published in JAMA · View the paper (DOI)
A new study found that people with small airways relative to their lungs' volume are at increased risk of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) regardless of smoking habits. Individuals with smaller airways had the poorest lung function and were 8 times more likely to develop COPD.
Coverage from 2 institutions
- Undersized airways may explain why nonsmokers get COPD Columbia University Irving Medical Center · Jun 9, 2020 · first to report
- Lung development may explain why some non-smokers get COPD and some heavy smokers do not NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute · Jun 9, 2020